Verizon Said to Set Rate on $14 Billion of Vodafone Loans

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Verizon Communications Inc. set the
rate on $14 billion of loans it’s seeking to back its purchase
of a stake in its wireless unit from Vodafone Group Plc,
according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

A $6 billion term loan due in three years will pay interest
at 1.375 percentage points more than the London interbank
offered rate, while a $6 billion term loan maturing in five
years will have a rate of 1.5 percentage points more than Libor,
according to the person, who asked not to be identified because
they are not authorized to speak publicly.

The financing, being arranged JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan
Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc, also includes a
$2 billion revolving credit line that will pay interest at 1.25
percentage points more than the benchmark borrowing rate.

Verizon, rated Baa1 at Moody’s Investors Service and BBB+
at Standard & Poor’s, is buying Vodafone’s Verizon Wireless
stake for $130 billion to gain full control of the most
profitable U.S. mobile-phone carrier.

A meeting with lenders to discuss the financing is
scheduled for tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. in New York, according to
the person. Under a revolver, money can be borrowed again once
it’s repaid; in a term loan, it can’t.